Vendors cry harassment

The spokesman of a vendors group has claimed that personnel of the City Hall's demolition team had harassed his members after he had exposed the alleged illegal activities of a city hall official.

Rex Deldig said members of the Alyansa sa Manindahay sa Sugbo operating along Colon and Leon Kilat streets complained to him after the personnel of the Squatters Prevention and Encroachment Elimination Division reportedly harassed them.

It was Deldig who alleged that a City Hall official had abused the confidence of Mayor Tomas Osmeña by putting more vendors in the sidewalks, although he did not identify the official.

But City Hall urban poor consultant Gerry Marquez, who was also tasked by Osmeña to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Speed, claimed he was the one being accused by Deldig.

The accusation prompted him to challenge Deldig to come up with proof to his allegation.

Deldig criticized the Speed personnel for harassing his members because according to him without an order, a demolition against the vendors is considered illegal.

But Speed chief Vicente Mercado said he is armed with a legal opinion issued by the city attorney's office allowing them to operate against sidewalk vendors even without a demolition order.

Mercado said sidewalk vendors using pushcarts to display their goods are considered public nuisance and could be taken out from the sidewalks.

He cited the legal opinion that states, "A movable vendor staying in the streets thereby endangers the health or safety of others or obstructing the free passage of vehicular traffic can be considered as public nuisance and can be summarily abated as provided for under Article 694 of the New Civil Code."

Deldig said that had the Cebu City council passed an ordinance regulating the operations of the sidewalk vendors, the situation of the sidewalks today would not be as worse as the time of the past administration. - Rene U. Borromeo